OTTAWA — A man is in police custody after the Langevin Block, the building across from Parliament Hill that houses the Prime Minister’s Office, was evacuated Wednesday morning due to a suspicious package.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper was not in the building at the time, RCMP told the Canadian Press.

The RCMP were releasing few details. “We responded to a suspicious package. The building was evacuated at the time of the incident. The prime minister was not on the premises. Shortly after the incident a male person was taken into custody in relation to this incident and the RCMP is investigating,” a spokesperson said.

Hotdog vendor Ivailo Stoiamov said police told him very little as they ushered him off his usual corner at Metcalfe and Wellington streets shortly after 11 a.m. “They just started piling up,” he said, gesturing to the police cars from his new post just outside the tape line.

“They evacuated the whole building and they kicked me out.”

The surrounding blocks, including a stretch of Wellington and normally busy Sparks street, were expected to remain closed for several hours.

This October 16, 2013 photo shows the parliament building in Ottawa, Canada from behind a police barrier after it was locked down. (MICHEL COMTE/AFP/Getty Images)